Don’t know what Pokemon to grab in any Pokemon game? Want to play competitive, but don’t have any staple Pokemon on your team? Well, look no further! A few notes: pseudo-legendaries are Pokemon with stat totals almost equal to legendaries, but they aren’t quite legendaries. These Pokemon are mighty, and most likely, there will be on every generation list. The pseudo legendary Pokemon for each gen are as follows: Gen 1, Dragonite. Gen 2, Tyranitar, Gen 3, Salamance AND Metagross. Gen 4, Garchomp. Gen 5, Hydreigon. Gen 6, Goodra. Gen 7, Kommo-o.

**THIS ARTICLE IS BASED ON BOTH MY OPINION IN HOW COOL THE POKEMON IS, AND IN COMPETITIVE VALUE. NOTHING ELSE EFFECTS THIS LIST.**

Generation 1/Kanto

Ah, good ol’ gen 1. Generation one is the oldest generation (of course) and has several powerful Pokemon used all the time, even today! I would say it’s one of the stronger generations of the 7. Narrowing down the list was both hard and painful, but I managed to do it.

3. Gengar/Alakazam. These 2 Pokemon are pretty similar, filling the same role, and both having mega evolutions. They both are special attackers with very high special attack and speed and the ability to one-shot most Pokemon. Mega Gengar is very scary, as it traps the opposing Pokemon so that they can’t run or switch out. Mega Alakazam copies the ability of the first Pokemon it sees, so sometimes it can become terrifying. Both of these Pokemon, without a doubt, is very scary and you do NOT want to good up against them.

2. Dragonite. Dragonite, without a doubt, is EXTREMELY scary. It may be 4x weak to ice, but with its ability, multiscale, that allows it to take only half damage while at full hp, combined with its move roost, that heals half of its hp, it can stay alive for a long time. Not to mention that it can learn dragon dance, a move that increases both its speed and attack so that it hits first and hits very hard. It may not have a mega evolution, but regardless, you do NOT want to fight this pokemon in a dark alley. Or a light one. Or at all.

1. Mewtwo. Let’s be honest. Everyone knew this was coming. Mewtwo is easily the most active Pokemon of generation 1. It has a whopping 130 speed, in the top 3 of all pokemon ever(and top 2 of the viable ones) and a base 154 special attack. That is a crazy amount of special attack, actually the highest of all non-mega Pokemon. Not to mention it has access to a vast variety of powerful moves and coverage and has its signature move with a base 100 power! Combined with STAB(Same type attack bonus), that is 150 power! It can get moves that add its base special attack to itself every time you use the move! And then, Mewtwo also has mega evolutions. That’s right, not just one mega evolution, but 2. One is a very strong physical attacker, while one in a strong special attacker and both are VERY powerful. There’s no doubt in my mind that Mewtwo is the strongest Pokemon of its generation.

Generation 2/Johto

Not gonna lie, gen 2 doesn’t have too much going for it. Even the legendary Pokemon aren’t that good, at least for the tier they should be at. A few of the best Pokemon are evolutions from generation one, and some extremely strong(and one of my favorite) Pokemon evolve from some Pokemon in gen 2.

3. Houndoom. Houndoom is a dark and fire type, and another fast special attacker Pokemon. It can learn the move nasty plot, which adds 2 stages of special attack(basically adds the base special attack to the current one), which makes it able to use that once or twice and faint most Pokemon in only 1 hit! It also has a mega evolution, which is probably the biggest reason it is on this list, as the mega evolution, A. looks super sick, and B. adds more base special attack and speed.

2. Scizor. No way anyone can change my mind on this, Scizor is crazy! Scizor has a base 130 attack. Combine this with his ability, technician, that multiplies the power of all moves with a base power of 60 or lower by 1.5x, and it’s STAB priority(always goes first) move, bullet punch deals serious damage! Scizor evolves from Scyther, a gen 1 Pokemon. Not to mention, Scizor can learn roost to heal, and swords dance to increase its attack even MORE! On top of that, Scizor has a mega evolution. Scizor also has no weaknesses except for fire types, which is a 4x weakness.

1. Tyranitar. Tyranitar is a pseudo-legendary, having a base stat total of 600! Tyranitar’s unique typing, rock and dark, leads it to have 7 weaknesses, one being a 4x weakness to fighting. Despite this, however, since Tyranitar has a crazy base defense of 110, Tyranitar can tank a few hits to use dragon dance a few times to be really fast, and to deal a whole lot of damage. As for the special attacking end of the spectrum, Tyranitar’s ability, sandstream, summons a sandstorm(a weather effect) which raises the special defense of all rock types by 50%! Not to mention, Tyranitar has a mega evolution. Tyranitar’s mega evolution, combined with its crazy move pool and stats makes it the best Pokemon of gen 2(although not my favorite).

Generation 3/Hoenn

Hoenn is the generation that fixes all of gen 2’s problems. There are too many good Pokemon, so here are some honorable mentions; Swampert, as it is very tanky and has a large move pool, plus a mega evolution. Gardevoir I know is a fan favorite, and as a Pokemon, it isn’t crazy good, but it has a mega evolution, and people love it, so I have to mention it. And finally, the Pokemon that should’ve made the list, but barely gets outclassed, Blaziken. Blaziken’s hidden ability, speed boost, allows it to get a stage of speed (or +50% of its base speed) every turn, at the end of the turn. Combined with the move swords dance, this makes Blaziken a great sweeper.

3. Breloom. Breloom may not have a mega evolution, but it is very similar to Scizor. They have the same base attack, 130, same ability, technician, and same purpose, to sweep. Breloom is different being that it has a lot more weaknesses, but it has a special move, spore. Spore puts a Pokemon to sleep, with 100% accuracy, a one of a kind move. Combined with swords dance(again, swords dance is a crazy good move) and mach punch (the bullet punch of fighting moves) it can sweep many Pokemon with ease.

2. Kyogre. One of my personal favorite Pokemon, Kyogre is a great overall Pokemon, especially against NPCs. I guess I am kind of biased here, as Groudon is equal to Kyogre, but I love Kyogre very much. Kyogre has a move, water spout, with a base 150 power while at full HP. Add a choice scarf(only lets you use one move, over and over) and its ability drizzle(summons rain, a weather condition), it can sweep many teams with relative ease. Not to mention it has a primal form, which can’t be used with a choice scarf, but this primal version does not take up a mega evolution slot, but basically is the same thing.

1. Rayquaza. Let’s be honest, everyone saw this coming. Heck, the most popular Pokemon battling format(Smogon) divided things into tiers. Mega Rayquaza has its own tier because that’s just how broken it is. Rayquaza on its own isn’t bad by any means. It has a base 150 attack and special attack, and 95 speed. It has a wide variety of moves and such. It can also learn both dragon dance, and swords dance, making it very strong. Rayquaza’s signature move, dragon ascent, allows it to mega evolve, without a mega stone. That may not seem crazy, as it still takes up a mega slot, but mega Rayquaza has 180 base attack and special attack, and a base 115 speed. Combined with any item that could do it good, and its unique weather condition, “strong winds”(summoned from its ability delta stream) that removes the weaknesses of all flying types on the field. This makes mega Rayquaza crazy good, with many choices and options to use for it.

Generation 4/Sinnoh

This generation is widely considered the “evolution” generation, as it has many evolutions for Pokemon from previous generations. There are again, many great Pokemon, so I will have some honorable mentions; Giratina/Arceus, the devil and god Pokemon, Lucario, as it’s a standing doggo(and a great Pokemon overall, complimenting Rayquaza pretty well), and Rotom, for its many forms, especially Rotom-Wash, with only one 2x weakness that can stall with great moves.

3. Togekiss. If you have been in the competitive Pokemon community for some time, chances are, you have heard of para-flinch Togekiss. Togekiss has great stats, able to deal massive damage while outspeeding slow Pokemon and tanking some decent hits. Togekiss has access to a lot of coverage moves, and a common moveset is thunder wave(to paralyze, slowing down the opposing Pokemon while having a chance to stun them for 1 turn), roost(to recover health), air slash(to use in conjunction with thunder wave, because of Togekiss’s ability serene grace which doubles the chance for something to happen, making air slash a 60% chance to flinch the enemy Pokemon), and a coverage move, commonly flamethrower, aura sphere, or ancient power(for the 20% chance to raise all stats by a stage). Togekiss overall is a very scary Pokemon and must be shut down immediately.

2. Garchomp. This Pokemon is very strong overall. It has 102 speed, outspeeding Pokemon with 100 speed, but behind 105 speed Pokemon. It also has 130 attack, and the other stats aren’t bad. Garchomp can tank a hit to use swords dance, and then sweep, or take out a lot of the opposing team. Not to mention it has a mega, but it is sort of lackluster.

1. Darkrai. Darkrai is a legendary Pokemon, and it is themed around sleep. It has great stats, 135 special attack, and 125 speed. This, combined with a +speed nature, allows it to use its signature move, Dark Void, which puts Pokemon to sleep. Darkrai then can use nasty plot, the swords dance of special attack, and with its high special attack, spam dark pulse and dream eater. Not to mention its ability, bad dreams, which makes all sleeping Pokemon take damage at the end of every turn. Darkrai overall is a very strong Pokemon, and you need to outplay the opponent to take one down.

Generation 5/Unova

Ah, the American based generation. This one is probably the least favorite in the Pokemon community of all of the generations, but it has a few decent Pokemon.

3. Ferrothorn. Ferrothorn is a great tank Pokemon, using toxic to stall out the enemy, while attacking, protecting, or using moves like stealth rock. Ferrothorn overall is a pretty meh Pokemon, but for generation 5, it’s pretty useful.

2. Amoonguss. Amoonguss is an amazing tank, having everything a tank needs. It can use toxic, to stall, and has synthesis, to heal on demand. It also has giga drain, a pretty hard-hitting move that heals at the same time. Not to mention, it can learn spore, a 100% accuracy move that puts the foe to sleep. This makes Amoonguss a great tank and makes up for its sort of lackluster stats.

1. Hydreigon. Hydreigon is a pretty great Pokemon but gets outclassed, like most things. It has access to a decent variety of moves, but with its 98 speed, it gets fainted by any hard-hitting fairy move, such as a Togekiss using dazzling gleam. Not too much to say here, just better than the rest of the Pokemon in generation 5.

Generation 6/Kalos

Generation 6… is pretty awesome, in my opinion. It introduced mega evolutions, which made a lot of Pokemon really good. It also had some of the best and most used Pokemon to date.

3. Greninja. No, not Ash-Greninja, hardly anyone uses that. I mean, Ash-Greninja is good, but people run protean Greninja. You see, protean changes the type of the user to whatever type the move it is about to use is. So if Greninja used ice beam, it would become ice type before using the move and gain STAB, making it very good, as you can use this to your advantage, to resist types or deal lots of damage to the enemy.

2. Aegislash. Aegislash is a great Pokemon, having 3 immunities, to normal, fighting, and poison types. On top of that, with its ability, stance change, it can set up safely, and hit super hard. Aegislash also has great coverage. The common Aegislash set is (attack), (attack), swords dance, and kings shield. The way stance change works is that Aegislash has 150 defense and special defense in shield mode, and 150 attack and special attack in sword form. You start out in shield mode, so swords dance a few times, then attack(goes into sword form), kings shield(to go back to shield mode), rinse and repeat. This makes Aegislash a VERY common Pokemon.

1. Xerneas. Xerneas has a special move called geomancy. What it does, is charge up for 1 turn, and raise special attack, special defense, and speed by 2 stages, essentially doubling it. When used while Xerneas is holding a power herb, it happens in 1 turn! This makes Xerneas really scary, and people running Pokemon such as Aegislash to counter Xerneas.

Generation 7/Alola

Alola is basically the Hawaii of Pokemon. It introduced Alolan-form Pokemon, that are basically generation 1 Pokemon with different typings, looks, and slightly different stats. It also introduced Pokemon called ultra beasts, which have very high stats, and when they knock out a Pokemon, their highest stat goes up a stage.

3. Golisopod. Golisopod is a great Pokemon, amazing stats, crazy tankiness, etc, but its ability, emergency exit, forces it to switch out whenever it goes below half health. Overall a solid Pokemon, a great Pokemon to run whenever you want to.

2. Tapu Lele. Tapu Lele is a sorta legendary Pokemon, as all the Tapus are. Tapu Lele has a solid special attack, and with a choice scarf and a timid nature, Tapu Lele is a force to be reckoned with. Its ability, psychic surge, stops all priority moves from working and boosts the power of psychic moves by 50%.

1. Marshadow. Marshadow, with no doubt in my mind, is a bit overpowered. It has the ability, technician, which as we already know is very scary on basically any Pokemon. However, the only commonly used move Marshadow can take advantage of with technician is shadow sneak, the quick attack of ghost types. Marshadow has a base 125 speed and attack, so it can easily dish out massive damage. Now, the moves Marshadow gets combined with its mediocre defenses and strong attack and speed make it extremely strong. Marshadow can learn the three elemental punches, fire punch, ice punch, and thunder punch. Any Pokemon that has that capability is already extremely strong, as ice punch is very useful for countering basically any dragon-type, and fire punch counters things like Scizor. On top of that, Marshadow can learn drain punch. This is a move with a base 75 power that deals damage and heals the user for half the damage dealt. Very useful as a STAB move, and combined with Marshadow’s impressive attack, makes Marshadow hard to kill too. Marshadow can also learn sucker punch, a non-STAB priority move that only works if the foe uses an attack this turn. And lastly, a huge part of why Marshadow is so strong is its signature move. Spectral Thief. This move is confusingly strong. It is a STAB base 90 power ghost-type move, so that is already pretty nice. But then, it steals all the positive stat boosts from the foe. With this, it makes Marshadow a good stopper to popular baton-passers, and shut down Scizor teams with ease. Overall, it is very obvious why Marshadow is number 1.

Well, that’s all! The next generation, gen 8/the Galar region, hasn’t come out yet, but will in a few months! We only know a few Pokemon, and not too much about said Pokemon, so I can’t really rate those Pokemon right now. Thanks for reading this 2673 word article!